The heavy oak door of the empty classroom clicked shut behind the last student, the sound unnaturally loud in the sudden silence. Kael stood frozen near the exit, the weight of Maya von Storm's command pinning him in place. The lingering psychic residue of the Bleeding Wastes projection seemed to cling to the air, mixing with the sharp scent of ozone emanating from the silver-haired instructor. Sunlight streamed through the high windows, illuminating dust motes dancing in the tense atmosphere.
Maya didn't move from her position beside the imposing instructor's dais. Her ember-like eyes held Kael with unnerving intensity, the scar on her cheek stark in the light. "Kael Vance," she repeated, her voice lower now, a velvet murmur that vibrated in the stillness. "Approach."
Kael forced his feet to move, each step echoing slightly on the polished darkwood floor. He stopped a respectful distance away, meeting her gaze, trying to project a calm he didn't feel. The image of the Oblivion Maw, the dying Elite in the Frostbite Expanse, and Maya's revelation about his Affinity's reaction churned within him. *Resonated. Like calling to like.*
"You seem… unsettled, Cadet Vance," Maya observed, tilting her head slightly. A trace of something – curiosity, perhaps caution – flickered in her eyes. "The realities of the Void are harsh. But your reaction during the feed was unique. Tell me, what did you feel when the Void energy from those Advanced-tier beasts flared on screen? Specifically."
Kael hesitated. How to articulate the unsettling sensation? It hadn't been fear, not like the cold dread gripping him now. "It wasn't… unpleasant," he admitted, the words feeling treacherous. "Not like the Skitterlings yesterday. That was just… wrongness. This… it was like a vibration. Deep. In my bones. My… Affinity." He struggled to find the words Maya would understand. "War and Destruction. It… stirred. Not aggressively. More like…" He clenched his fist unconsciously. "Like recognizing a familiar pressure. A low hum."
Maya's gaze sharpened. "A hum. Not a scream? Not a recoil?" She took a single, deliberate step closer. The ozone scent intensified, prickling Kael's skin. "Most S-grade Affinities, even destructive ones, react to raw Void energy with instinctive rejection. It's alien, corrosive. They flare defensively, like white blood cells attacking an infection. But yours… *thrummed*. Sympathetically." She paused, her expression unreadable. "This is highly unusual. Unprecedented in my records, at least for an Affinity not explicitly tied to the Void itself. Tell me about your manifestation. During the trial."
Kael recounted the desperate moment against the Skitterlings – the surge of raw power, the terrifying ease with which he'd channeled destruction, the way it felt less like summoning and more like *unleashing* something primal within him. He described the chilling focus, the absence of fear in that moment, replaced by a cold certainty of annihilation.
Maya listened intently, her face a mask. When he finished, she was silent for a long moment, her eyes seeming to look through him, assessing something unseen. "A direct, unfiltered channel to the concept of War and Destruction," she murmured, almost to herself. "Not fire, not kinetic force… the *essence* of ending. And it resonates with the Void's own annihilating nature." She refocused on him. "This is both a potential of immense power, Cadet Vance, and a vulnerability of catastrophic proportions. The Void *is* entropy. It *is* ending. Your Affinity speaks its language. The danger is that it might decide to… listen."
A cold knot formed in Kael's stomach. "What are you saying? That my power… could be corrupted?"
"Corrupted?" Maya's lips thinned. "Perhaps. Or perhaps it could simply find a… kinship. A resonance that weakens your resistance, makes the Void's touch feel less alien, less hostile. It could make you a more potent weapon against it… or a more susceptible conduit *for* it. The line, Vance, is terrifyingly thin. History is littered with powerful Awakened whose Affinities resonated too well with the enemy they fought. They didn't turn traitor; they simply… *understood* the Void a little too deeply. And understanding can be a slippery slope towards assimilation." She held up a hand, forestalling his next question. "I don't have answers yet. Only observations and warnings. You will report to me for supplementary assessment twice weekly, starting tomorrow before dawn. Room 7B in the West Spire. Discreetly. This information stays between us. Do you understand?"
The command was absolute. Kael nodded, the weight of her words settling on him like a physical burden. "Yes, Instructor."
"Good." Maya's gaze softened infinitesimally, though the intensity remained. "Use caution, Vance. Be mindful of that resonance. If it grows stronger, if it ever feels… *inviting*… you come to me immediately. Your life, and potentially many others, may depend on it. Dismissed."